A moment of quiet
by Aya Williams
Summary: While at a party Noah decides to take a break from people. Naturally Owen follows him and the two share a moment. Oneshot


A/N: There aren't enough Noah Owen friendship fics. I've listening to chasing cars and I think it fits them. Even if the song is talking about a romantic relationship it never explicitly says the relationship is romantic so I think it works. Don't worry you don't have to know the song, nor is this a songfic it's more like a song inspired oneshot. Enjoy.

Noah was not a party person, that much was obvious. You'd think it would be anyway but as usual people find new ways to astound with their obliviousness. Of course Noah should have figured Geoff wouldn't catch on to his reluctance. That guy probably didn't understand not liking parties.

After they had won the race that surfer dudes had done exactly what you'd expect. They decided to throw a party. A party they invited everyone they knew to. Noah had wanted to decline but Owen had begged. Eventually Noah had figured it was taking too much effort to say no.

So now he was at the party, standing in the corner trying to ignore everything. It was all too much for his senses. Noah was not used to this much noise, and certainly not used to this kind of chaos. It was like the entire house was full of Geoffs. Noah had a hard enough time with just the one.

Emma had left the party about an hour ago, something about going to sleep at a reasonable time. Noah wished he was doing the same but Owen didn't listen to him as well as Kitty listened to Emma, so he had said his goodbyes. Ever since then Noah had been trying to pretend he was somewhere else.

Noah sighed and left the house. It was dark but the lights from the house made it easy to see. He was just going to walk a little ways away, lie down, and take few minutes to breathe before he reentered the onslaught of noise. He found a patch of ground in Geoff's backyard and allowed himself to relax, being social was exhausting.

It had only been one, maybe two minutes before he heard a familiar voice. "Little buddy! Geoff going to down an entire bottle of root beer in one go! You wanna see?" Owen asked him. Of course Owen would notice the lack of his presence, even though he hadn't done anything but lean against the back corner for the better part of an hour.

Noah let out a bit of air. "Not really Owen." He said idly, he was trying to relax.

"Are you sure?" The blond inquired. Noah wasn't the best at reading people but he could hear a hopeful tone in the boy's voice.

"Yes." He said simply. He knew that wouldn't be the end of it though. Owen clearly wanted to know why he was out here.

"Look I know you're not really into parties but it's not the same without you." Owen trailed.

Noah huffed. He could tell Owen was trying to understand him. Owen was an extrovert. He very rarely didn't want to be around people. He didn't tire of their presence and it took quite a bit to irritate him. So Noah knew he didn't get why he'd. come out here.

Noah was just the opposite. He was introverted, he disliked large groups of people. He wanted to be alone most of the time and was more easy to irritate than his stoic nature showed. Owen often overlooked these flaws, or maybe he just didn't notice them, either way he didn't really view Noah as the social recluse he was.

"I just need some time away chubby buddy." He said with a forced grin. Owen looked confused.

"Away from what?" The blond asked earnestly. How was Noah supposed to explain that?

"Everything." He said sighing in exasperation. He heard nothing in response and felt a bit guilty. He hoped Owen would just return to the party and enjoy himself. He didn't want to think he'd undermined the large boy's enthusiasm. Even if he did find it annoying sometimes it was part of who Owen was. Moments later he felt someone lay beside him.

"Owen?" Noah said in askance.

"Right here little buddy." The large boy replied.

"I thought you wanted to party." Noah deadpanned.

"I do," Owen responded. "I'd rather hang with you though. I don't know why you're out here and I don't understand why you need time away, but I'm willing to wait until you're ready."

Owen never ceased to amaze him with his kind nature. A genuine grin settled on his face.

"Thanks Owen." He said. The two just lay there for a few minutes ignoring everything but the enjoyment of each others company. Noah appreciated moments like these. All too often he was on another reality show. Noah did enjoy them,when Total Drama is your starting point pretty much every reality show was a step up, but it meant he rarely got the chance to rest. To forget about life and just exist.

Owen broke the silence. "Noah?"

"Yes?" He replied lazily.

"Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we never met?" Owen asked.

"Yes." Noah responded. He didn't want to explain further. He didn't want to tell Owen he thought he'd be a cynical social recluse with little sympathy and even less empathy. He didn't think Owen would like to hear him think badly of himself.

Another minute of silence. "Noah?"

"What." Noah sighed.

"I love you." The blond replied. Noah simply waited a second. "I mean not like that! I would never get in the way of you and Emma!" There it was, Owen had gotten better at his phrasing but he still had the occasional slip up. "What I meant was..." Owen paused, at a loss for words. To be honest Noah couldn't blame him, explaining a love consisting of friendship was difficult, especially these days when so many people didn't understand being so close to someone you weren't attracted to. It was nearly impossible to articulate without someone misunderstanding. So Noah understood why he was trying so hard to convince him he didn't mean it the way it sounded. Noah wasn't even sure there were words to describe it.

Noah smiled. "I know. You ready to head back?"

Owen beamed. "You bet little buddy!" The two walked across the yard. Neither of them bothered to mention the underlying message in Noah's words. 'I love you too chubby buddy.'


End file.
